Conservative Donnybrook

Our good friend Senator Arlen Spector from Pennsylvania is at it again. Worrying about the integrity of professional football in America, he has seen fit to wield his authority as a the ranking Republican (note not conservative) member of the Senate Judiciary Committee to open up hearings in the near future over the “Spygate” controversy that enveloped the early weeks of 2007 NFL season. Those unfamiliar with spygate can catch up here. At issue is why the NFL destroyed the that were confiscated from the New England Patriots.

Senator Spector claims that he is worried that the NFL may put it’s anti-trust exemption at risk if the tapes were destroyed inappropriately. Considering that the original merger agreement, which was passed into law by the 89th Congress granting the NFL-AFL anti-trust exemption, prevented teams from relocating the threat of Congress revoking the exemption is laughable. Since the merger several teams have relocated (see, Baltimore to Indianapolis, Cleveland to Baltimore and the Raiders hopping back and forth between Oakland and Los Angeles). These moves have never put the leagues exemption in harms way but all of the sudden internal NFL discipline might? Continue Reading »

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 James Poulos of Postmodern Conservative has endorsed Romney and Obama for the nominating constests. Poulos on Obama:

The best way to standardize respect in this country is to standardize citizenship, and return to citizens the ability to administer their shared affairs together face to face. For all his liberalism, Obama is unique in his ability to inspire the desire for that kind of respect and real political participation. … There is a profound desire in the culture today to escape from politics and citizenship — to enjoy the feeling of togetherness rather than do the hard work that makes togetherness worthwhile. Obama’s style and substance tempts and rewards this desire. But it also tempts and rewards its opposite. … Obama inspires people to not abandon politics to the experts, to recognize the goods of taking control of their own lives to common purpose. I may disagree with him on nearly all the issues, but I earnestly hope that the chance he presents, especially on the left, is seized before all the life of true citizen politics is drained away.

I see little evidence that Obama’s brand of governing would inspire such “true citizen politics.” Continue Reading »

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